SpaceX’s campus hosts Ad Astra/Astra Nova schools
Posts showed Ad Astra/Astra Nova STEM schools operating on the SpaceX campus in Hawthorne — project‑based K‑12 programs focused on real propulsion and space problems rather than traditional grading. The presence of these schools underscores SpaceX’s campus culture and local STEM ecosystem ties. (x.com)
Ad Astra was launched in 2014 after Elon Musk pulled his children out of private school and asked educator Joshua Dahn to build an experimental program at SpaceX; the early reports trace the program’s start to that year. (cnbc.com) By 2017–2018 roughly 400 families had applied while the on‑campus program operated with about 40–50 pupils and an internal cap “probably never” to exceed 50 students, according to reporting and IRS filings. (cnbc.com) The online successor, Astra Nova, describes itself as “born at SpaceX,” is co‑founded and led by Josh Dahn, and lists 315 middle‑school students from 45 countries with a planned high‑school launch in the 2026–27 school year. (astranova.org) Separately, a new Ad Astra campus in Central Texas has been seeded with major Musk‑linked funding (reports cite a roughly $100 million infusion) and local reporting documents the group’s nonprofit activity as part of a broader Musk‑backed education push in Bastrop County. (independent.co.uk) Early public filings and coverage show Musk subsidized the original program (roughly $475,000 reported in early IRS paperwork) and that the Hawthorne model emphasized project‑based learning across AI, ethics and hands‑on engineering rather than conventional grade structures. (foxbusiness.com)
